Prince Harry, Elton John face $13 million legal bill after Daily Mail case

Prince Harry and six other claimants have been ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54 million, or about $13 million, toward the legal costs of Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) after losing their High Court case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

The group, which also included Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, had all of their claims dismissed by Mr Justice Nicklin last month, according to Sky News.

ANL said its total legal costs from the case exceed £34.5 million, or roughly $47 million, although the full amount will not be paid immediately.

The publisher had sought an interim payment of more than £9.9 million, while lawyers representing Harry and the other claimants argued that the initial payment should be just over £7.9 million. The court ultimately ordered the £9.54 million payment.

In a 436-page judgment issued after the trial, Mr Justice Nicklin found that none of the claimants had established allegations of unlawful information gathering by the newspaper, including phone hacking.

Harry and his co-claimants had alleged that voicemail interception, landline tapping and obtaining information through deception, known as "blagging", had been carried out by private investigators, freelance journalists and ANL employees over a period of about 30 years beginning in the early 1990s.

ANL strongly denied the allegations.

Following the judgment in July, the publisher described the outcome as an "overwhelming victory" and a "magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail's journalism". Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre said the case "should never have been brought to trial".

Harry strongly criticised the ruling.

In a statement, the Duke of Sussex described the decision as a "complete reversal" of the position previously taken by judges in his legal actions against the publishers of The Sun and The Mirror, cases in which he settled and won, respectively.

Harry called the ruling in the ANL case a "complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected".

By Tamilla Hasanova